Review of Silence (2016) by Rmurray847 — 10 Aug 2023

SILENCE is a film you need to steel yourself to watch. You should not just throw this on at a whim. It's 2 hours and 40 minutes, and it is not exactly briskly paced. It is challenging intellectually (and perhaps spiritually, which it is meant to be), and isn't "fun" to watch. But it rewards careful, thoughtful viewing. Martin Scorsese often deals in religious themes...either directly or not, but this film is in many ways his most direct look at FAITH. What does it mean to hold on to your faith in the most difficult of circumstances, particularly when God isn't answering your most fervent prayers? Does that sound like a fun topic to spend so much time with? No? But again, come prepared to watch and listen and with an open mind...and you may be rewarded.

I am not religious (but have belonged to churches in the past), and I don't want anyone thinking that I feel this movie will "make" you religious or faithful. But even if you are not, surely you can acknowledge that faith IS important to many. This film is set in the 17th century, and follows two young priests who bravely travel to Japan, a country that is dangerously hostile to Christians. And in this "unenlightened" time, belief in God and the redemption offered by Jesus was serious business. Even if you are someone who scorns religion in our day and time...please recall the context of the film.

The two priests (Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver) live in terror of discovery. For capture is likely to mean torture and possibly death...but even more dreadful for these frightened but sincere young men is the notion that they may be driven to renounce their faith. That in the end, they will give up their very souls because they won't have the strength to do otherwise.

The film explores this notion to a great degree (arguably perhaps just a bit repetitively). If you renounce your faith to save yourself or others...will you truly be damned? Can you keep your relationship with God even if you have renounced him to the world? Can such apostacy be forgiven? (There is a Japanese character in the film who continuously renounces his faith and then confesses his sins and is forgiven. Is this actually a viable survival strategy?) Anyway, the film grapples with tough topics and in typical Scorsese fashion, does not shy away from gruesome details (although he has done far, far more graphic work). I won't tell you more plot details...I'm really just trying to convey that this is a film that takes on some big issues and does not offer easy answers.

Garfield is quite credible in his role, and Adam Driver makes an excellent counterpart to him. Driver, in particular, very much looks the role. Be warned, Liam Neeson is hardly in the film. His character looms large, but is only seen for a few minutes. The film features much gorgeous scenery (I saw it on Blu Ray...highly recommended.) Everything about it is immaculate, in typical Scorsese fashion. The sound is wonderful, the costumes detailed and convincing. I recommend the film...but again, with a strong warning to give it the attention it is due. There is no "multi-tasking" allowed while watching, unless you want to just be bored by the film. It asks to you to participate in mulling over the big issues it presents. Reward yourself by going along on that journey.

And if you ARE religious, I think you'll find your faith challenged. Not your belief in God and in the "rightness" of your belief...but you'll be asking yourself...how strong is my faith? Were I to face a similar circumstance, how would I respond? This film is NOT sacrilegious (although it is strongly Catholic)...don't worry about that. But it asks you direct, uncomfortable questions.